Please evaluate my profile

Question

My profile:
Undergrad from University of Melbourne, GPA 3.95(gpa was out of 100, but when I came to do masters in us, they transferred it to this number 3.95, i was top 5% of the class that graduated in the two years),
Ms in Computers Science, GPA: 4.0,
5 years full time work experience, got 3 promotions in 5 years.
Career Goal: Open a financial service back in India, and run it from USA. Joint venture with my brother. Also have dads steel business to run as a side.) I know I have lot of options back in India..
GMAT: 660(Q:50,V:29)

1) What do I do abt GMAT? Should I retake it? Is it really needed? I mean Q of 50 is good.. but V 29???????
2) IS this score good enough for Californai Berkley where they have financial engineering program?
3) Is this score good enough of University of Chicago part time?
4) Can I get into ultra-elite schools with this gmat for full time mba?
Ultra-elite full time: U chicago, Stern, Wharton, Harvard.

Please help

Thanks a lot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Accepted.com · Answer

willget800,

If you have scored higher than 660 on some practice GMAT tests or if you didn't do Kaplan or Princeton Review this time and are prepared to do it now, then you should probably retake the GMAT. A 20 point increase would help a little; a 40-point increase would be great.

Your Australian experience and apparently fast-track career will help you offset your current GMAT to some extent, but your Indian-male-IT profile will force you to work harder to stand out and might make Haas FE and Chicago P-T difficult to break into. Ultra-elites are out given your current GMAT.

Consider retaking.

willget800 · Answer

Thanks a lot for your reply!!

Waht are the schools that I should look into with this score?

I might give gmat again later..To improve it byu 60 points atleast.. Its my SC thats killing me now!

Accepted.com · Answer

willget800,

With a 660 you could consider the following excellent part-time programs: Michigan, USC, CMU, Indiana, and Texas Austin. You could also throw 2 or 3 of your dream schools (part-time) into that pot since you could get lucky. For full-time schools, you could look at UNC, Darden, Texas Austin, Cornell, and Rochester--all excellent programs.

Good luck!

willget800 · Answer

Thanks a lot for your immdediate response....

Do you think NYU is out of reach for full time?

I live in Iowa.. so doing part time in the list of schools you mentioned might not be possible.. The only schools near the place I live are within 4 hours of drive for part-time/weekend programs are:

iowa: tippie school
chicago

Chicago I was hoping to do the weekend program.. If you feel 660 is not enough, maybe I can try to give gmat again..

For Full Time, I was thinking of:
NYU
University of Chicago
University of Pennsylvania

From your replies, it looks like its not worth trying for the above.... Looks like I am left with the schools that are ranked from 10 to 20?

Thanks again for your help!

Accepted.com · Answer

willget800,

Unless you raise your GMAT--or have some powerful material you have not told me--then I do think schools in the 10-20 range are more appropriate for you. I am not suggesting that you take a pass on NYU and Chicago (full-time) if you have your heart set on them--you might as well give it a shot. I'm just saying that from my vantage point your odds look small. However, a score of 660 may well be enough to get into Chicago's weekend program. Needless I hope to say, your chances depend on a lot more than your GMAT score.

willget800 · Answer

Thanks a lot for the information!!!!!!

Appreciate it!

Accepted.com · Answer

You're welcome...

willget800 · Answer

Paul,

Thanks a lot!!!!! for all your replies.. I got my awa.. got a 5.5, so the final gmat is: 660(Q:50,V:29,AWA:5.5).. 

questions:

1) will the awa offset some part of my low verbal score?

2) I have been hearing gmat is not everything in the top 10 schools.. so let me explain my case further... i have two options that i could use in my essays.. here they go..

What should I use to have a better chance: Opening a financial service business and managing my dads steel business or mentioning the ambition to become a CEO of an aerospace company, since thats where I worked for 5 years. I am currently a project lead for the team thats working in India, and I am working with the customers here and managing requirements and the software in india.

My end goal is to run my dads business, but I am afraid with so many indians aplying, i will get slotted, instead i could use aerospace experience to my advantage. Also I did my Bachelors from Melbourne,Australia. So I have a definite international exposure as a plus point.

2) I have finalised my schools, and I know you mentioned that harvard,wharton etc were out of my reach.. so i have made them my reach schools and added a few more... Can you advice on out of the following, what schools do I have a realistic chance?

harvard,
wharton,
nyu,
tuck,
uta,
ucla,
usc,
boston,
purdue

I appreciate your responses!

Thanks a lot

Accepted.com · Answer

willget800,

1) The AWA will compensate for the verbal score to some limited extent, but they will still see a 660 as a 660. 

2) CEO as long-term goal sounds a bit over the top to me. I always favor telling the truth. Taking over your father's firm is not a post-MBA goal that I encounter very much (certainly not nearly as much as "becoming a strategy consultant") so I see no downside to using it. Just make a strong case that you will have to earn your way to the top.

3) With a 660, you have a realistic chance at USC, Texas, Boston, and Purdue.

Good luck,

willget800 · Answer

Paul,

Thank you so much for your help.. I have decided to retake gmat... i am going to enter mgmat classroom course..9 week course.. and in the end of the coruse give the exam..

I am sure i will do better... 

Also I will indeed say the goal of expanding my dads business.. Thats what I want to do from the bottom of my heart, and I feel with the international exposure I have gained, I can help him importing and exporting steel and other products in the begenning and finally ending up with opening a finacial service firm as the ultimate goal.
I think I can write quite a bit on this!!

thanks!

Accepted.com · Answer

You're welcome and good luck.

willget800 · Answer

Paul,

Thanks for the information you provided to me.. I retook the gmat, and had a 10 point increase... got 670.

My heart is set on Chicago Full Time and London Full time for MBA..

My strengths are going to be that I want to run my own company and my international experience..

From your previous messages it sounded like I have very little chance at top 10.... Do you think the 670 score has any affect?

BTW.. I am reading your book.. Awesome book!

Thanks

PaulBodine · Answer

willget800,

Congratulations on raising your score. It's not a huge increase, but it is an increase and schools will give you some credit for that. Also a 670 is close enough to the 700 threshold that they will probably assume you can handle their programs academically. So your score improvement means more than a 10-point increase from 520 to 530 would. 

I hope I have not implied that you have zero chance at a top 10 school. People with 670s most certainly do get admitted to them. So go for Chicago and London as long-shots, but have some backups in place. Accentuate what makes you different.

Thanks for plugging my book. I'd be eternally grateful if you could add a brief Customer Review (even just "Awesome book!") to my   
Amazon.com book page . Thanks ...

Good luck,

willget800 · Answer

Paul,

Thanks for your reply.. I was lost in the world of your book.. I dont have an amazon account.. but dont worry.. who ever I meet, I mention about your book..

I am trying to compile a list of schools.. What schools do you think I should pick as safety schools?

Also Is my score good enough for HAAS Financial engineering and CMU Msc Quant Finance?

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Mihir

PaulBodine · Answer

Mihir,

Don't think you need an account at Amazon to post a review. The safeties you mentioned in your earlier post--USC, Boston, Purdue--make sense to me. As for Haas and CMU's master's programs, your GMAT may not be high enough for Haas (obviously, you want the quant portion as high above the 80th percentile as possible); I don't know about CMU.

willget800 · Answer

I have scored a 50 for Quant and 49 for Quant in 2 exams. Thats not high enough for Financial Engineering?

I tried posting the review. It asked me for the account. Let me try again.

willget800 · Answer

This is what i get from amazon:

To write a customer review: you must have used this account to complete a purchase* of an item from Amazon.com. Please wait 24 hours after your first purchase before writing a review.


I have not purchased the book from amazon but from barnes and nobel.

PaulBodine · Answer

Willget800,

A quantitative subscore of 50 is definitely strong enough to get into financial engineering.

I stand corrected, I guess you do have to have made a purchase to post a review. Thanks anyway for trying, I appreciate it!

Cheers,

Please evaluate my profile

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards